NASA launching twin moon probes to measure gravity

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four decades after landing men on the moon, NASA is returning to Earth's orbiting companion, this time with a set of robotic twins that will measure lunar gravity while chasing one another in circles.
By creating the most precise lunar gravity map ever, scientists hope to figure out what's beneath the lunar surface, all the way to the core. The orbiting probes also will help pinpoint the best landing sites for future explorers, whether human or mechanical.
Near-identical twins Grail-A and Grail-B — short for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory — are due to blast off Thursday aboard an unmanned rocket.
Although launched together, the two washing machine-size spacecraft will separate an hour into the flight and travel independently to the moon.
It will be a long, roundabout trip — three to four months — because of the small Delta II rocket used to boost the spacecraft. NASA's Apollo astronauts used the mighty Saturn V rocket, which covered the approximately 240,000 miles to the moon in a mere three days.
NASA's Grail twins will travel more than 2 million miles to get to the moon under this slower but more economical plan.
The mission, from start to finish, costs $496 million.
The moon's appeal is universal.
"Nearly every human who's every lived has looked up at the moon and admired it," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology planetary scientist Maria Zuber, Grail's principal investigator. "The moon has played a really central role in the human imagination and the human psyche."
Since the Space Age began in 1957, 109 missions have targeted the moon, 12 men have walked its surface during six landings, and 842 pounds of rock and soil have been brought back to Earth and are still being analyzed.



Three spacecraft currently are orbiting the moon and making science observations. A plan to return astronauts to the moon was nixed in favor of an asteroid and Mars.
Despite all the exploration, scientists still don't know everything about the moon, Zuber noted. For example, its formation still generates questions — Grail's findings should help explain its origin — and its far side is still mysterious.
"You would think having sent many missions to the moon we would understand the difference between the near side and the far side, but in fact we don't," she said.
Recent research suggests Earth may have had a second smaller moon that collided with our present moon, producing a mountainous region. The Grail mission may help flush out that theory, Zuber said.
Grail-A will arrive at the moon on New Year's Eve, followed by Grail-B on New Year's Day. They will go into orbit around the lunar poles and eventually wind up circling just 34 miles above the surface.
For nearly three months, the spacecraft will chase one another around the moon, meticulously flying in formation. The distance between the two probes will range from 40 miles to 140 miles. Radio signals bouncing between the twins will provide their exact locations, even on the far side of the moon.
Scientists will be able to measure even the slightest variations in the gap between orbiting Grail-A and Grail-B — every single second. These subtle changes will indicate shifting masses below or at the lunar surface: mountains in some places, enormous lava tubes and craters in others.
The moon actually has the most uneven gravitational field in the solar system, according to NASA. The moon's gravity is about one-sixth Earth's pull.
"We measure the velocity change between the two spacecraft to a couple of fractions of a tenth of a micron per second. It is an extremely accurate measurement that has to be made," Zuber said.
A tenth of a micron is about half the size of a red blood cell.
By the time their science mission ends in late spring, Grail-A and Grail-B will be within 10 miles of the lunar surface. Barring a change in plans, they will crash into the moon.
Each spacecraft holds one science instrument— for sending and receiving radio signals between the two — as well as a digital video camera system, MoonKAM, intended for use by middle school students worldwide. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and her science education company in San Diego is leading the photo-gathering effort. It's billed as "eyes on the moon for Earth's students."
This is NASA's second robotic mission to be launched since the end of the shuttle program in July. A probe named Juno is headed for Jupiter following an Aug. 5 liftoff.
NASA officials will be thrilled if Grail generates even a portion of the immense interest ignited by the Juno launch. A large crowd is expected at Cape Canaveral for Thursday's morning liftoff, which features a pair of split-second launch windows a half-hour apart.
"We're just delighted by the way the country is responding to these exciting missions," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division.

Put the glass down!

A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students,' How much do you think this glass weighs?'

'50gms!'.... '100gms!'.....'125gms'...the students answered.

What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?

'Nothing' the students said.

'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students.

You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?'

'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress and paralysis and have to go to hospital for sure!' ventured another student and all the students laughed.

'Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?’ asked the professor.

'No'

'Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle stress?'

'Put the glass down!' said one of the students.

'Exactly!' said the professor.' Life's problems are something like this.Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem OK. Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they begin to paralyze you.'

It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN more important to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

So, when you leave office today, remember to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!'

london news............

WHO says cell phone use can cause brain cancer

           Using a mobile phone may increase the risk of certain types of brain cancer in humans and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure, World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer experts said on Tuesday.

       A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as "possibly carcinogenic".

          The classification could prompt the U.N. health body to look again at its guidelines on mobile phones, the IARC scientists said, but more research is needed before a more definitive answer on any link can be given.
The WHO had previously said there was no established evidence for a link between cell phone use and cancer.

       "After reviewing essentially all the evidence that is relevant ... the working group classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans," Jonathan Samet, chair of the IARC group, said in a telebriefing.

         He said some evidence suggested a link between an increased risk for glioma, a type of brain cancer, and mobile phone use.

         The decision comes after a study published last year which looked at almost 13,000 cell phone users over 10 years found no clear answer on whether the mobile devices cause brain tumours.

         The decision has been keenly awaited by mobile phone companies and by campaign groups who have raised concerns about whether cell phones might be harmful to health
.
          Use of cell phones use has increased dramatically since their introduction in the early-to-mid 1980s. About 5 billion mobile phones are currently in use worldwide.

science express

Welcome!

Science Express is a unique science exhibition on a 16-coach, fully AC train, traveling across India. This exhibition showcases cutting-edge research in Science. An Indo-German collaborative project; it was flagged off on 30 October 2007 by Honorable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel. This innovative exhibition has received an unprecedented response and created four National Records. During its three phases, till April 2010, it has been visited by over 51 lakh people, mostly students. So far, it has traveled over 50,000 km, covering 150 locations, during its 600 exhibition days.

This state-of-the-art mobile exhibition attempts to develop scientific temper amongst the masses and encourages students to pursue higher studies and careers in science. It hosts interactive exhibits developed by Max Planck Society, Germany; Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India and Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), Ahmedabad. It also houses the ‘Joy of Science’ hands-on lab for conducting Science & Mathematics experiments, as well as exhibitions on Climate Change and India's heritage in Science & Technology. 

About Science Express

The exhibition on the Science Express train has been primarily developed by Max Planck Society, Germany in collaboration with Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. The exhibition features over 300 large format visual images, 150 video clips and multimedia exhibits. A number of exhibits from Indian institutes have been put up. In the current phase, it also hosts an exhibition on Climate Change sponsored by HSBC, besides showcasing India’s achievements in Science and Technology and the ‘Joy of Science Hands on Lab’ of VASCSC.

Exhibition Topics

Coach 001 ON THE WAY TO THE BIG BANG Why are the laws of nature the way they are? Why did the world not disperse as light during the Big Bang, instead of forming stable matter? How did the Universe expand to its current size? What determined its speed? How constant are natural constants? And why do elementary particles have the mass that they do? Such are the questions at the core of modern physics – and at the essence of creation. Human life may never have emerged in a world with just slightly different natural constants. In the search for answers, physicists are examining the elementary components of the material world and their interactions, the four fundamental forces: the strong interaction that binds quarks and atoms; the weak interaction important in radioactive decay; electromagnetic interaction and gravitation. The latter can still not be described by a closed theory. Physicists are thus developing a model of ‘physics beyond the standard model’ and searching for associated fields - such as the Higgs field, as the key to gravitation. They are doing this with the world’s largest accelerators: the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the future International Linear Collider and the accelerator in Brookhaven. In smaller experiments, they are determining natural constants more precisely than ever. To this end, particle physicists, astrophysicists and cosmologists of the Max Planck Society are cooperating across the boundaries of their disciplines and internationally: with biologists at the molecular level, IT specialists in the field of quantum information, and with mathematicians on string theory.

Coach 002 NANO COSMOS  How can we systematically influence materials? The nanocosmos is providing the physical, chemical and material science-related foundations for better, more compact and less-expensive future products. Technical applications are born – from the micro milling machine and ideal catalytic converter through to semiconducting polymers for optics and electronics. The targeted development of specific catalysts allows molecular designing of custom polymers. New phenomena present challenges for scientists – the gigantic magnetoresistance (GMR) for new storage media, modern high-temperature superconductors or quantum states of matter, like Bose-Einstein condensate. The study of materials and their fabrication has long since reached the atomic level. Researchers at the Max Planck Society are breaking down chemical processes and the fundamental interactions between individual atoms chronologically. They are studying their magnetic, electrical and optical properties with new microscopy procedures and with synchrotron light. Their view of the anatomy, formation and transformation of matter has never been sharper. Progress has also been made in material production with entirely new properties: away from the random creation of internal structures and towards targeted manipulation, even of individual atoms. Materials can now be customized, atomic layer by atomic layer, and nature has thus far assisted researchers in this through its own ordering processes. In the “ExtreMat” project, scientists from the Max Planck Society are coordinating research Europe-wide into new high-strength materials for extreme stress applications.

Coach 003 BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE What is life? The structures of living beings are complex and come in various shapes and forms. This holds true for the macroscopic organization of their tissues and organs as well as for microscopic interaction of their molecules, which interact with practically inconceivable dynamics. Among the highly complex macromolecules are information carriers that can be copied any number of times, tracks and engines that transport molecular loads, carriers that determine not only the statics of the cells, but also their mobility, and finally, membranes that seal the cells off from outside, while still allowing material exchange and communication with the surroundings. Thanks to new analysis and detection methods, research into the three-dimensional structures of these giant molecules and their functions in the cell is progressing rapidly. This depends on the refinement of existing methods and the development of new ones for imaging – for examinations in living cells – and on computer simulation. To understand the processes in living cells, it is necessary to know more than the structure of macromolecules; knowledge of their interaction in groups, and temporal changes to which they are subject is also necessary. But how do enzymes ensure that chemical reactions, which are crucial for the way the cells function, take place in time and space? Can cells repair themselves? Which imbalances lead to diseases, whether developmental disturbances in childhood or signs of aging? An understanding of these processes is the potential for developing new medical agents or materials based on nature’s example.

Coach 004 FROM GENE TO ORGANISM  Which programs control the development of life? Like many organisms, a human being develops from a single cell. Today, the human genome has been completely decoded. Surprising discovery: our blueprint contains many molecular similarities to other living beings. But how does an organism develop from such a plan? How can completely different cells develop from one set of genetic information? Cells react with their surroundings, making use of different nutritional sources, repairing defects, and coordinating their activities in the growth and development cycle. How does the cell use the information encoded in the genome to fulfil its function? We know that an organism is not defined only by its genes. In addition to protein-encoded areas, DNA also contains regions that control the gene expression. This explains why the number of genes does not continue to rise as the organism becomes more complex, or consequently why the same number of genes can produce a mouse or a person. But how do genes interact in networks, and what influence do external factors exert? Many afflictions, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, result from the interactions of numerous genes and environmental factors. What is the difference between a sick and a healthy organism? How can the natural control system be used for new therapy forms? Can we reprogram body cells? Today, researchers have the chance to study and understand life as a complex “system”. Together with new technologies, this could lead to new medicines that treat illnesses according to the individual genetic disposition.

Coach 005 ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIND How does the brain work? The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe. It contains roughly 100 billion nerve cells, each of which has thousands of connections to other neurons. Their interaction controls each of the body’s functions, allows thoughts, perceptions, memories, feelings, and also movement and communication. Understanding just how the brain works, in health or in sickness, is one of the greatest challenges of our time. What is determined by genes, what is formed by experience? Neuroscientists are investigating all aspects of the nervous system. Great progress can be expected in visualizing and modelling brain functions, as well as in research into their biological basis. Today, it is assumed that 30 to 50 percent of human genes exercise their function chiefly in the brain. This gives an indication of the complexity of the genetic control and development. The cause of many neurological diseases lies in defects in genes that play a role in development. Half of all genetic diseases affect the nervous system. The brain can only reach its full capability through interaction with its surroundings. Researchers are examining the interaction of genes and experiences with regard to the expression and fine–tuning of neuronal circuits in the brain. How do nerve cell processes find their goal? How do different brain areas develop? How do cognitive functions mature? Thanks to research, the prevention and cure of many brain diseases seems possible for the first time. Better knowledge of the way the brain processes information could, moreover, make new computers possible.

Coach 006 THE WORLD OF SENSES What is consciousness? The ability to communicate using complex language and to think actively about one’s own history and future make us as humans unique. How did our brain evolve? What is the origin of language and that of cognitive and cultural human skills? Researchers want to throw light on important aspects of human evolution. Properties of individual nerve cells are already well researched today. However, when we think, smell, feel, make plans or learn, extremely complex processes are at work in our brain; they require the interaction of many neurons in different areas of the brain. New imaging methods make it possible to observe the brain as it produces cognitive results, and to trace at which times areas of the brain are activated. But how does the brain use the different information to produce an image of the world? Research is focusing on more and more complex cognitive processes and structures: how do we recognize and distinguish faces, and how is language processed in the brain? Furthermore, what is the connection between individual differences in learning and intelligence with variations in the brain? How far can these differences be traced to a different genetic background? Additional progress should result in new integrative methods, which researchers are currently developing, to allow observation of the extensively branched neural networks and the development of functional organization in the brain. The goal is for smart agents and functional MRIs to make it possible to see changes in ion and molecular concentration, both of which are involved in signalling processes.

Coach 007 TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE FUTURE  Can complex systems be measured? Extremely sensitive measuring instruments are required in order to understand what actually holds the world together and how processes occur in space or in living cells. They extend the human sensory organs that render the invisible visible. They provide the data for new theories. The technology involved is currently undergoing radical change: sensors are now of molecular proportions and can be made of polymers, coated ionic conductors or proteins. They function on the basis of atomic and quantum phenomena, and are becoming increasingly accurate at the same time. It is now already possible to measure the frequency of a hydrogen line to 14 decimal places. Consequently, the mountain of data continues to grow. Mainframe computers and distributed computing via grid computing form the basis for data handling. This results in a need for increasingly sophisticated selection strategies and new algorithms for data compression. Mathematical methods are the only way of understanding those organizational principles of nature that form the basis for the measured data, as well as the complex networks into which man is integrated – ranging from the food chain, social behaviour and chaotic irregularities during heart attacks, through to the fault susceptibility of the mains supply or mobile networks. How can this chaos be controlled? How can computers be used to recognize patterns as effectively as the brain? Or to what extent is it possible to employ computers in verifying and testing software? Such questions will have an increasing influence on research and on our lives. and FROM DATA TO KNOWLEDGE How does complexity arise? In research, questions as to ‘how’ and ‘why’ are gaining in complexity. The gap between the theoretical description of nature and current experimental questions continues to widen. Through modelling and simulation, computers aid in closing this gap. Models serve as the basis, reflecting aspects of reality. They are the foundation for simulations with which scientists imitate specific changes in individual parameters. Visual images play an important role in both cases, making the results far more comprehensible. Today, scientists can, for example, describe the behaviour of atoms and molecules on the computer and calculate not only basic chemical reactions, but – by adjusting the scale - also the macroscopic properties of solids by integrating quantum mechanics in computer models. Knowledge of biological processes has also grown enormously over the past few years. The life sciences have at their disposal an ever-increasing number of parameters to include in their models, leading to evermore detailed results. In the future, the behaviour of entire cellular signal chains and complex bioprocesses will be examined. This will require processing and analyzing greater data volumes. Researchers strive to understand networks and emergent phenomena, which result from the interaction of many individual phenomena. Data mining and computational biology will thus continue to gain in importance. Today’s genetic analysts and system biologists work together with statisticians and computer scientists, and with astrophysicists to analyze astronomical data, and physicists to conduct acceleration experiments.

Coach 008 CLIMATE CHANGE Cause, effect and mitigation Climate change is any long-term change in the statistics of weather overperiods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It may occur in a specific region, or across the whole Earth. Anthropogenic factors (human activities) have become the cause for the rapid increase in global average temperatures over the past several decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from human activitysuch as fossil fuel burning and deforestation caused most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century. Climate modelprojections indicate that the global surface temperature will probably rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C during the 21st century. This will cause sea levels to rise, change in amount and pattern of precipitation; probably expansion of subtropical deserts; retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes inagricultural yields are also likely. Mitigation of global warming is accomplished through reductions in the rate of anthropogenic greenhouse gas release. This would be through individual action against global warming, as well as community and regional actions. The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions - the Kyoto Protocol would also serve to mitigate the effects of Climate Change.

Coach 009 GLOBAL CHALLENGES What constitutes sustainable development? More than 6 billion people inhabit the earth today. Feeding them, keeping them healthy and providing them with energy are true global challenges. Fundamental research is performing ground-work for solving these challenges. In health, one aspect of the work here involves chronic diseases, which kill many millions of people each year. But work is also concentrating on the no less dangerous infectious diseases, such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Research is focusing on finding the molecular causes of diseases and developing targeted therapies and tailored medicines. Yet in the long run, particularly in societies with aging populations and falling birth rates, preventive measures play a leading role in avoiding illness. The foreseeable dwindling of fossil fuels and the consequences of unrestrained carbon emissions on the climate are encouraging new ideas for generating energy. This includes research into nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, development of new technologies for generating, transporting and storing hydrogen, through to artificial photosynthesis, as well as the development of innovative materials for robust and powerful fuel and solar cells. Given the limited resources, humanity must take a new path of sustainable development. If research can understand the expression of characteristics in plants, this could provide new raw materials for the production of synthetic materials, dyes and fibres that are no longer based on limited petrochemicals. Or grains, whose cultivation require fewer pesticides and less irrigation.

Coach 010 SPACESHIP EARTH How can we preserve the earth’s protective systems? Life on earth is only possible because of the complex coexistence among land ecosystems, oceans, atmosphere and the substances that circulate among them. Small changes can have far reaching effects. This is why scientists are looking for a unified understanding of the earth. To this purpose, they take measurements on the ground and air, and develop computer models. Micro-organisms are ubiquitous and, like plants, animals and people, sustain the biosphere. They control the circulation of life’s most important raw materials – carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulphur, iron, manganese and water. Research into micro-organisms is necessary for reliable earth models. Moreover, they often contain interesting enzymes and metabolic products. The earth itself is also very active, as revealed by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This is why researchers are looking at the earth’s interior, where a gigantic dynamo generates an invisible shield that protects us on earth from deadly radiation from space. Scientists also want to explore earth’s surroundings in space, as solar weather can have serious consequences for our daily life. Only when we understand the complex interaction of all of these components can we achieve sustainable use of the earth’s resources. There are many open questions. Which regions and components are particularly sensitive to changes? What are the thresholds that, if exceeded, can result in abrupt changes on earth? And just how much influence does mankind have? Are there possibilities for long-term control of the earth’s behaviour?

Coach 011 OUR HOME IN THE COSMOS How do stars and planets originate? Beyond the Earth’s magnetosphere lies interplanetary space. This is filled with solar wind: electromagnetic wave fields and particle showers, radiating from the Sun. This is the central star of the planetary system and thus at the centre of attention of solar system researchers. These scientists want to know how the sun works: what does its magnetic activities look like? How are the highly-charged particles heated and dispersed in powerful pulses? Which energy transformations result in the heating of the sun’s corona and emission of the solar wind? The researchers are also keeping an eye on the sun’s influence on the Earth: they are investigating the ways in which the sun affects communication and navigation systems here on earth, as well as its long-term impact on climate changes. Exploration of the sun, however, also entails studying the planets, their atmospheres and moons, as well as uncovering how they were formed and how they have developed. This early history of the solar system and the planets can also be gleaned from comets and meteorites. A prerequisite to clearing up such questions is not only powerful earth-based telescopes, but also space missions.

Coach 012 THE UNIVERSE  How and when did the universe come into existence? Where do we come from? This question has fascinated mankind throughout history. But today we want to know more. How did the universe come to be? Why does it have its present shape and structure? We want to understand cosmic processes. To find answers to these questions, astronomers and astro-physicists study the birth and death of stars, and the creation of galaxies and black holes. They also try to determine how “dark matter” and “dark energy” is dispersed throughout the universe. We know a great deal about the four percent of visible matter – however, about the 96 percent of invisible stuff in between, we know next to nothing. To improve their chances of shedding some light on these matters, astronomers are now, more than ever before, teaming up with nuclear physicists, particle physicists, cosmologists and mathematicians to model and simulate structures and processes, bringing together quantum mechanics and the Theory of Relativity. Their hope is to answer the burning question of how the universe originated and evolved. How did it come to have the order and structure we know today, given its apparent initial chaos? In their quest for answers, scientists rely on increasingly powerful and complex instruments. This includes telescopes set up on earth and in space designed to cover the entire radiation spectrum. Astronomy, today, has already entered a ‘golden era’, with instruments more accurate than ever before, enabling scientists to look far off into the universe. We are the first human beings to study extrasolar planets and solar systems.

Coach 013 Coach 013 INDIA’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY & JOY OF SCIENCE HANDS-ON LAB This coach has an exhibition on India’s Achievements in Science & Technology. The exhibition showcases the glorious legacy of India, India Today and Tomorrow in Science and Technology, India’s achievements in IT, Biotechnology, Space and Nanotechnology. Interesting video clips and models supplementing the theme are also included. A part of this coach houses the VASCSC’s Joy of Science Hands-on Lab. This is an activity zone where children can perform hands-on activities and experiments in science and mathematics. This gives them a chance to explore and learn different concepts with an element of fun.

JOY OF SCIENCE HANDS-ON LAB The Joy of Science (JOS) Lab has been developed by Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) in the 13th coach of the Science Express. It is an area where participants will get a chance to perform hands-on activities and experiments in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Electronics and Mathematics. The 6 workstations in the lab are equipped with more than 50 interesting experiments and activities for different age groups. These activities include exciting themes from their school curriculum too! The lab will be functional at all the stations (see Tour) where schools will be able to bring their students with prior registration.

The Lightning Hunters

                                             Titusville, Florida—the ideal spot for launching spacecraft in the United States just happens to lie right in the middle of a region known as Lightning Alley. Even when the air over Florida’s Cape Canaveral—home to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)—is free of storms, electrical conditions can cancel a liftoff. Flight controllers dare not send a rocket into a charged blue sky, where the craft might act as a giant, flying lightning rod. And before liftoff, an ill-timed bolt could easily scuttle a mission. “If lightning strikes near a vehicle being readied on the launchpad, we might have to retest every system to see if induced currents have caused damage,” says Frank Merceret, research director of the space center’s weather office. “We might even have to roll the space shuttle back into the Vehicle Assembly Building.”

                                         For all these reasons, Merceret eagerly welcomes the visit of two veteran researchers from the University of Mississippi, Tom Marshall and Maribeth Stolzenburg, whose ongoing project here seeks to explore fundamental lightning physics. 
Marshall says, “There’s no lab analog for lightning.” This is why his team has packed two van-loads of equipment for deployment here at the peak of summer’s thunderstorm activity. Lightning is all too well-known for the way it conducts a potent rush of charge from agitated storm clouds down to ground level, but despite decades of research, the most important details of the dynamic still defy description. No one knows exactly how strokes begin—or “initiate” in lightning parlance—nor is it understood how they propagate within a cloud or from one cloud to another, or trace their jagged, stepped paths through the air from cloud to ground.

                                                 Marshall and Stolzenburg hope to capture the entire life cycle of a lightning flash by linking their custom-designed detectors to four other types of sensors, three of which are already permanent fixtures of KSC’s lightning-warning system. Each type of sensor detects a different electromagnetic frequency, tuning in to a specific phase of the lightning stroke. Combining the inputs from all the sensors on microsecond timescales—something that has never been done before—will allow the researchers to capture a stroke as it ignites, accelerates, and moves charge.

                                             They hope the data will eventually help shape a general theory of lightning behavior. As a more immediate, practical goal, Marshall and Stolzenburg want to test whether KSC’s surveillance system reliably registers all the strokes thrown down during any given storm. Evidence from earlier studies suggests that some strokes slip by unnoticed during moments when sensors are overloaded.

                                             Although the object of the scientists’ study embodies beauty and terror in equal portions, the labor of their measurement entails many mundane duties: lugging car batteries to and from equipment installations, recharging them overnight, and repeating the process daily over a period of weeks. Today’s site inspection takes us first to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, on the fringes of the space center. En route we encounter several large swaths of vegetation smoldering in prescribed burns—fires set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to clear undergrowth or control insect pests. The lightning researchers view the patches of scorched ground through the hopeful lens of their interest: Perhaps the cloud of smoke from the burn will trigger lightning strikes. But this does not happen.

                                                The Merritt Island lightning detection apparatus is housed in a large yellow metal locker with two antennas sticking up like high-hat cymbals on a drum set, and a sign warning “Danger High Voltage.” One antenna is “fast,” the other “slow.” Both measure the amount of charge in a single event. Fast and slow are relative terms here, since everything about lightning happens quickly: The fast antenna (operating at 500 kHz) examines the field on a microsecond scale, while the lower-frequency slow antenna (running at 10 kHz) detects surges on a millisecond scale.

                                              University of Mississippi graduate student Sumadhe Karanarathne, who built much of the equipment and wrote some of the computer code for it, unlocks the yellow box and downloads yesterday’s data onto a portable hard drive (which he will take to the motel and back up four times, just to be sure he doesn’t lose any of it to some unexpected glitch). His wife, Nadee, an engineer, rubs the surfaces of the attached antennas with alcohol wipes to remove conducting materials such as salt, dust, and spiderwebs. Undergraduate Lauren Vickers, who changed her major to physics after getting a taste of lightning research two years ago, swaps out a run-down pair of batteries for freshly charged replacements.

                                      Near the Mississippi equipment box stands one of 30 instruments—small white canisters slung from tripods—in KSC’s permanently installed Field Mill Network. These are arranged around the grounds to detect the surface electric fields that emerge when lightning is imminent. A separate KSC setup, the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System, records lightning as it hits the ground. For earlier warning, the space center’s Lightning Detection and Ranging System tracks short surges of lightning in the clouds, up to 100 nautical miles away.

                                Our next stop is the nearby Space Coast Regional Airport, to check one of the seven receivers that the team has borrowed from the European LINET (“lightning network”) and installed over a 3,000-square-mile area. Each of these receivers resembles a skeletal globe formed by two intersecting copper loops mounted together on an aluminum block. Pooled data from all seven should locate lightning surges measuring 1,000 to 10,000 meters long. Since reliable readings depend on perfect alignment, Stolzenburg sets a carpenter’s level on the receiver while Marshall tightens a few bolts.

                             Before reaching under the wooden steps to check the cables that snake into the building where the data are recorded, the Mississippi researchers bend down and look around for real coral snakes that might be hiding there. Everything seems in order, so we move on.

                   As we drive, the researchers scan the sky for cloud activity, as though praying for rain. In fact, I’m certain they are praying for rain. By 11 a.m. a dark gray wall rising in the south looks promising to me, but I’m told those clouds are too shallow to produce a thunderstorm. An hour later, though, the clouds loom darker and larger, becoming real contenders. “We’ve done our work for the day,” Stolzenburg says. “Now we just have to wait for the clouds to cook.” She studies them again. “Probably after 2 p.m.”

From her perspective, the true beauty of the storm outside the window is the number of strikes it has delivered near the team’s sensors.

                    We return to the motel well before then. Once a storm breaks, the instruments function automatically, and a person had better observe from indoors. Lightning claims more lives in the United States than tornadoes, hurricanes, or winter storms. In a typical year, as many as 60 Americans are killed by lightning, and over 300 more are injured.

                                 When the action starts—practically on cue, at 2:50 p.m.—Marshall and Stolzenburg turn out to have the room with the best view of the mayhem. They invite me to watch with them. “Those cg [cloud-to-ground] strikes behave differently from the ic [intracloud] lightning,” Marshall says, offering play-by-play commentary. Stolzenburg, meanwhile, has an eye on the Web site displaying the space center’s real-time radar. From her perspective, the true beauty of the storm outside the window is the number of strikes—17 so far—it has delivered near the team’s sensors. 
There will be lots of data to download tomorrow. Refining the theory of lightning lies in the weeks and months ahead...................